Season 4, Episode 31 – This week on the show, we’re celebrating Belgian Independence Day with Belgian beers, or course.

It’s Belgium Independence Week! Or, at least it was last week. This is cause for celebration! As if we needed and excuse to drink Belgian beers on the show, we’re drinking some classics from Belgium.

Belgian Beers

Jason is once again absent from this week’s episode (he’s literally drinking beer on vacation in Portland, Oregon), so our homie Jacob Talamantes from Craft Cascade is filling in and celebrating Belgian independence with us.

We’re not messing around this week. We’re coming out swinging with some blind tasting, courtesy of Jason’s girlfriend, and our bud, Sara. Matt accidentally caught a peek of the first beer, and it takes us a seemingly odd amount of time to guess said beer. We’re then a bit blown away by one of the selections and learn that preconceived notions about any particular beer are just that, and beers should be just by the actual product in the bottle, or in this case, the 25.4oz can they are packaged in.

Next up is a long overdue homebrew segment. Greg brought us his Belgian strong-something-or-other that he brewed with local homebrewing legend, Brad Daniels. Brad is a local craft beer and homebrewing enthusiast from Anaheim, California, who’s probably best known for his unique and badass home brewery named Peace Brewing. Without getting into much detail, the dude’s brewery has hot water on demand, a hoist for his kettle, a bar, and a freaking urinal all built into his heavenly facility. We hope to feature his place on a future video episode.

Brad invited Greg over to his place for “brewing and brunch”, as it were, and that’s where this beer got its name, Belgian Brunch. Fermented with Safale T58 yeast, brewed with some non-specific hops, and then finally corked and caged (fancy!), this 12 day old homebrew came off a bit hot, and had all of the indicators that led us to believe that it ultimately needed more time in the bottle. Greg told us that Brad agrees, and that six months of cellar time will probably work wonders on this brew.

Alpine Brewing Company – Exponential Hoppiness

Next up is something of a treat from the San Diego region of Southern California, Exponential Hoppiness from Alpine Brewing Co.. This beer is a triple IPA, and of course, is delicious. Alpine puts a spin on the style by adding oak chips to the secondary to round out all of the flavors. If you’ve never tried it, seek it out. It’s worth the trek to Alpine for a day of drinking brews and hanging out on their back patio.

Finally, we end the show with some discussion on smaller breweries and if they feel the pressure to constantly innovate, and if it’s necessary due to their small size and consumer demand of their mainstay beers.

Brew the shit out of it!

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